1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a "spill-proof" container, and more particularly to a dry foodstuff container. Even more particularly the present invention relates to a "spill-proof" bowl for hand-eating by a person, particularly but not exclusively a small child, having a relatively small, centrally located, relatively small, open top area with the opening leading into a centrally located, vertically disposed tube leading down into the hollow interior of the much larger diameter bowl containing the foodstuff. A cap may be included for closing off the central opening when desired. The central tube prevents to a substantial degree the spillage of the foodstuff, when the bow is dropped or turned over.
2. Prior Art & General Background
Many types of containers and closures are well known in the prior art. For example, a cylindrical container with a screw on or snap on lid has been used to store a variety of items, a number of which have been manufactured by the "Tupperware" Company. However, these screw on and snap on container closures exhibit a significant disadvantage. When the container is opened to gain access to the contents thereof, there is an exposure of the contents to spillage through the open aperture created by removal of the closure. While this problem may be considered only an inconvenience by adults, the problem is a significant one when the container is primarily intended for use by small children.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,904 to Iverson (issued May 11, 1982) discloses a "spill-proof" container and a closure for use therewith by small children, which incorporates a plurality of overlapping arcuate flaps of a resilient and flexible nature for providing a closure to the container, wherein the container may be tightly sealed to prevent spillage, but may also be directly accessed by the user by the penetration of the user's hand through the approximate center of the closure. However, the overlapping arcuate flaps providing the closure are not easily cleaned when the container is used with open foodstuffs, which may tend to collect particles of foodstuff between the overlap of the flaps. Additionally, when the flaps and the container are opaque, it is not easy for a child to see the contents and selectively remove a selected portion of its contents. Also, the flaps themselves, although moveable, still represent a physical barrier to a child.
For another example of a "spill-proof" container, although not particularly adapted for use with small children; see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,927 to Kuhlman, which uses a slit, resilient diaphragm to access its interior.
For an example of a drinking cup for an infant, see U.S. Pat. No. 2,278,586 to Potter (issued Apr. 7, 1942), which discloses a measuring shell located in an outer cup container, which is provided with a port at its bottom that communicates with a liquid in a void between the shell and the container and controls the rate by which the shell fills, allowing the infant to obtain only a measured quantity of liquid at one time. For a further example of a drinking cup for an infant, see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,414,697 to Pettersson (issued Jan. 21, 1947), which provides a drinking cup having a removable cover, which includes an indented cup-shaped recess with an opening in its lower surface positioned at one side of the cover, and a depending centrally positioned tubular element with a relatively small opening in its lower end thereof extending from the lower surface of the cover into the cup. The cup provides a drinking cup especially adapted to eliminate the spilling of milk or other fluids by children when learning to drink from a cup.
For an example of a non-spill, open-top container for paint or granual materials, for example assembly line parts, considered to be a non-analogous art, see British Patent Specification No. 1,428,356 to Hunter (published Mar. 17, 1976). The container includes a tapered collar extending from the cover of the container to terminate above its base. The geometry of the container is such that, for a volume of water or other fluent material less than or equal to the volume of an inverted trough defined by the collar, cover and sidewall of the container, the fluent material is contained within and will not spill out, if the container is tilted or inverted. In contrast to the relatively small dimensions and higher aspect of the preferred embodiment of the invention, the Hunter paint container is somewhat squat, awkward and not practical to be used for example as a bowl for dry cereal or the like for a small child, as is the present invention.
Applicant knows of no art suitable for use by small children which prevents a dry, granular foodstuff when placed in a container such as a bowl from being spilled out if the container is tilted or inverted and which may be easily cleaned. Further, applicant knows of no art suitable for use by small children which when opaque allows visual access to the contents of the container for removal of selective portions of the contents while preventing a dry, granular foodstuff when placed in a container such as a bowl from being spilled out if the container is tilted or inverted.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a suitable method and apparatus for use by small children which prevents a dry, granular foodstuff, such as for example cereal, from being spilled when tilted or inverted.
Accordingly, it is also an object of the present invention to provide a suitable method and apparatus for use by small children prevents a dry, granular foodstuff from being spilled when tilted or inverted and which may be easily cleaned and is easy for a child to use.
Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a suitable method and apparatus for use by small children which prevents a dry, granular foodstuff from being spilled when tilted or inverted, which may be easily cleaned and which when opaque allows visual access to the tents o the container for the easy removal of selective portions of the contents.